Position: Director of Shepetivsky Vodokanal, City Council Member.
Sphere of corrupt activity: procurement.
Region of corruption activity: Khmelnytskyi region.
Qualification: actions are qualified under Part 2 of Article 367 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Status: at large.
Case story: In November 2025, the Shepetivskyi City District Court found 51-year-old Vitaliy Bykov, the director of the local water utility and a current member of the city council, guilty of official negligence. When purchasing official transport, the official did not check the market value of minibuses and overpaid more than half a million hryvnias. For this, he was fined 42,500 hryvnias.
The court found that in June–August 2023, Vitaliy Bykov signed three purchase contracts for Opel Vivaro and Renault Trafic minibuses without checking the real market value of each of them. As a result:
· Opel Vivaro was purchased for UAH 830,500 at a market value of UAH 619,015 (overpayment — UAH 211,485).
· Renault Trafic under contract No. 217 — for 889,500 UAH at a market value of 608,740 UAH (overpayment — 280,760 UAH).
· Renault Trafic under contract No. 293 — for 279,500 UAH at a market value of 235,676 UAH (overpayment — 43,824 UAH).
Thus, the official made an overpayment of UAH 536,000 from the budget.
The investigation established that the director had the opportunity to check market prices, but did not do so, which caused losses to the enterprise. During the consideration of the case, Bykov, who is also a deputy of the Shepetivka City Council of the 8th convocation, entered into a plea agreement with the prosecutor.
Judge Svitlana Kozachuk found the official guilty of official negligence (Part 2 of Article 367 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and imposed a fine of UAH 42,500. The decision can still be appealed in the Court of Appeal.
Persons potentially involved in corruption schemes: no information is available from open sources about potential accomplices.
Assets: In his 2024 declaration, Bykov indicated that he owns an apartment in Shepetivka (purchased in 2021), as well as two land plots.
Bykov's income for the same year was UAH 503,988. He declared UAH 100,000 in cash, and his wife declared UAH 500,000.
Persons who should have reacted: law enforcement agencies responded to Bykov's criminal activities in a timely manner, presenting him with a suspicion.
Scandals: Before the corruption scheme, Bykov was not seen as a figure in other scandals.
Sources:
https://public.nazk.gov.ua/documents/c6ace194-3ce9-4e30-b672-2c35f45b13f9